Dan Jansen

Fans may be deeply disappointed if he decides to hang up that formfitting red and blue nylon suit, and even his wife, Robin, 35, allows as how "he definitely fills those skins out well," but Olympic speed skater Dan Jansen isn't really about high-definition thigh muscles. Nor is he about clean-cut appeal, though USA Today has called him "skating's nicest human." He's not even really about being in perfect 6', 195-lb. physical form. No, says Jansen, 28, who is content to lounge en famille in sweats or jeans at his modest Greenfield, Wis., home, "I'm just me."

Just, that is, the American hero who in February finally captured an elusive gold medal. And just, that is, the adoring dad who scooped up 1-year-old sweet baby Jane (named after his sister who died of leukemia in 1988) for his victory lap around the ice. Now busy with endorsements, a TV movie deal, an autobiography and motivational speaking, Jansen still makes time for his family but admits that his heightened fame and the fan mail pouring in take some getting used to. "It's very, very different," he says. "And I don't want to change too much." Danny boy, it'll never happen.